octolilly [through the years]

Up: We are heading to Maryland in two hours to celebrate Christmas, New Years, and Sarah’s birthday (happy teenagedom!) with Daniel’s family.

Down: I’m not looking forward to dealing with a sickly toddler whose wants and needs change drastically from minute to minute.

Up: At least it’s only a two hour drive! And we have new Christmas toys for entertainment!

Down: Some of them are noisy. And I bet Daniel is going to looooove that. Since he is driving.

Up: Our friend Wilma is coming along for the trip. And tonight, at the Bergey’s, there will be TWENTY ONE people there for dinner. Our friends Eric & Stacy (and their kidlets) are coming as well.

Down: Several of the folks at dinner tonight are or have been sickly. What a germ-swapping fun time it’s going to be. 😉 EVERYONE WEAR GLOVES.

Up: I heard some Oh My Word life-altering news yesterday of something that might happen. And might happen soon. I wish I could talk about it on here. Not yet. But soon. 2009 is already throwing caution to the wind.

Up: We made $130 at the yard-sale on Saturday.

Down: But I still have a ton of children’s clothes leftover.

Up: I’ve been working on my novel for NaNoWriMo. I’ve unexpectedly fallen in love with the story.

Down: Of course, I haven’t written any of the actual story yet. Stop laughing. I’ve just written outlines, scene cards, and character sketches. I’m totally going High School Creative Writing course on this project.

Up: Our family in Baltimore are making an impromptu trip up to spend sometime with us this evening.

Down: This means I have to do some really-quick-straightening-from-the-yard-sale before they get here. In four hours.

Up: I *think* Daniel’s brother Tim and his girlfriend Dani are coming to spend the weekend with us.

Down: What they don’t know is that there are lots of leaves with their names written on them. Ha! No, seriously, I’ll make sure Drew helps some too. 😛

Up: The election is tomorrow. PLEASE GO VOTE.

Down: I have to admit, I’m a little nervous. I guess we all are, right? Hopefully we will all still be friends once this drama is over.

Up: We took the closet door off in Drew’s room and put up a curtain instead. He’s using the extra cozy area as a tiny playroom.

Down: But the roof is sloped inside the closet and I keep forgetting and slamming my head into the ceiling.

Up: Drew has learned to say “on” and “off” when talking about lights.

Down: Instead of saying “Mommy!” when I walk into his room in the mornings, he now says “ON!”

Up: The carbon monoxide detector we bought the other night still has a bright red ZERO on the screen.

Down: But there is still worry to wring my hands over because the furnace side of the chimney is almost blocked and when that actually DOES happen, well, that zero will start rising. Hopefully our landlord will have some ideas soon.

Up: Daniel introduced me to the world of cheese and pickle sandwiches.

Down: It’s hard to resist these. I’m now on pickle jar #2.

Up: I’ve limited myself to only one domain, one blog, and am working on being not so fickle about writing.

Down: My stack-of-books to read is very large and I feel frustrated that I have NOT put enough time into reading this year. I plan to do differently this coming year. Reading is just something I cannot let slide.

Up: We are traveling back to Maryland after Christmas and plan to stay over New Years Day.

Down: Our last trip home from Maryland lasted 15+ hours. I hope this trip doesn’t take as long.

Down: We have FINALLY begun to have some cold weather in South Carolina but still no snow.

Up: We are hosting two Christmas parties here this year, which I am looking forward to.

Down: Drew does NOT like the word “roar.” And we were planning on using that word A LOT while discussing dinosaurs.

Up: Daniel’s birthday is right around the corner.

Down: Teething would be helped by Orajel but Drew cannot STAND it and hacks, coughs, and wails each of the few times I’ve attempted to give it to him.

Up: Updated youtube videos

Down: I haven’t been in the mood to decorate for Christmas this season. And it has really bothered me because Christmas has always been one of my favorite holidays.

Up: But interestingly enough, we are moving in January back to the moho and are looking forward to it. Before we move in, we are painting the entire place. We are in the midst of deciding on colors.

Down: I have to fight the Christmas crowd while shopping tomorrow.

Up: I’m still losing a bit while going to my AA meeting for squishy people. 😉

Down: But it is hard to Just Say No to baked goodies during the holidays.

Up: I had a second cousin born a few days ago, Natalie Grace.

Up: My mom gave me two new children’s books for my birthday:

Down: Daniel’s having the flu (and insurance having not been effective yet) has put a crunch on the finances this month

Up: But he’s over the flu now and we will make it!

Down: A dear friend and I are at odds right now. Stressful circumstances, harsh words and misunderstandings haven’t made it easy.

Down: The “lawn mower” folk who keep the landscaping at the apartment complex are making my car even filthier.

Up: New music: Amore by Andrea Bocelli and The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw by Pelican. Yes, electic taste.

Up: The train is coming…it’s just around the bend

Up: I finally decided on the two pictures that I’m going to have in my office at the new building. We were to pick from this gallery.